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Health & Fitness

Selecting New Planning Commissioner - Part 1

Jim Gardner, Neighbor

This week the City Council will consider applicants to fill the vacant position on the Planning Commission (PC) created by the resignation of long time Planning Commissioner Jerry Zechmeister. To date the Council’s success at making good decisions selecting Commissioners is questionable. Just to review what’s happened as a result of the Council’s selections in 2013 –

  • In less than a year, the PC had more appeals and more decisions overturned than in their previous 20 year history.

  • For the first time ever, a sitting chairperson of the PC resigned, citing the conduct of the new appointees as a reason.

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  • Then, within a few months, his replacement as chairman, another veteran, resigned.

  • The PC’s level of cancelling meetings is more than 20%. Throw in the number of times the new commissioners miss meetings and a full PC meeting is getting to be a rare event.

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  • The Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) spent more than a year looking for a location for a dog park and came up empty handed.

  • Then the PRC spent more than half a year trying to come up with a plan to solve the problems at Village Pond Park, and again, came up empty handed, managing to violate the Brown Act in the process.

    • What are the chances that the Council will make a good decision this time? Stop groaning! Until there is an election in November we are stuck with them.

    Here is the data from the Planning Commission applications so you can compare and contrast the qualifications of the 10 applicants. Not everyone gave responses to every item, so there are some blank spaces.

     

    Years Lived in Lake Forest?

    • Thomas Ludden - 38

    • Marcia Rudolph - 35

    • Frank Deni – 25

  • Barry Fast – 20

  • Steven Campos - 15

  • Debra Okano – 14

  • Robert DeAlmeida – 12

  • Hugh Everhart – 6

  • Tom Cagley - 2

  • Lawrence Arthur – 1 month


    • Lives in…

    • Thomas Ludden – Lake 2

    • Marcia Rudolph – Kimberley Gardens

    • Frank Deni –  Normandale

    • Barry Fast – Trabuco Canyon

    • Debra Okano – Portola Hills

  • Hugh Everhart – Lake 2

  • Tom Cagley – Lake 2


    • Voted in 2012

    Everyone except Barry Fast claims to have voted in 2012


    Graduated from the City’s Leadership Academy?

    Marcia Rudolph is the only graduate of the Leadership Academy.


    Participate in City Advisory Groups?

    Tom Cagley is the only candidate who participates in a City Advisory Group.


    Regularly attend Council/Commission meetings?

    • Marcia Rudolph – attends almost every Council meeting

    • Tom Cagley – “attended nearly every council meeting for the past seven months…attended a few Planning Commission meetings”

    • Thomas Ludden – “attended several”

  • Hugh Everhart – “attended 4 meetings”

  • Robert DeAlmeida – “occasional visits”

    • None of the rest regularly attend City/Commission meetings


    Served on Committees, Clubs, Boards, or Organizations

    • Tom Cagley

      • Member, Orange County Grand Jury

      • Chairman of City Committee, Grand Jury

      • Vice-chair Architectural Review Board

  • Secretary, Association of Former Intelligence Officers

  • Lake Forest ad hoc committee to support Marine Battalion

  • Marcia Rudolph

    • President (4 times) SACC

    • HOA President Kimberley Gardens

  • Subcommittee chair El Toro RAB

  • Frank Deni –

    • Normandale HOA Board Member

    • OC Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Board Member

  • Steven Campos

    • Scoutmaster (7 years)

    • Oso Lake Director of Shooting (5 years)

  • Thomas Ludden –

    • Lake 2 HOA Board (several years)

    • ETHS Band Boosters (2 years)

  • Lawrence Arthur

    • Chairman Architectural Review, Quail Point Estates HOA (2 years)

  • Robert DeAlmeida

    • Member OC BIA (2 years)

    • Member OCTA Corridor Advisory Board (2 years)

  • Forest Gardens HOA Board member (1 year)

  • Barry Fast – AYSO Board Member (6 years)

     

    • Education

    • Hugh Everhart, MBA (Pepperdine)

  • Frank Deni, MBA (UCI)

  • Barry Fast,  BA (Business Administration)

  • Debra Okana, BA (Organizational Management)

  • Thomas Ludden, BS (Industrial Technology)

  • Marcia Rudolph – BA

  • Robert DeAlmeida – AA (Urban Sociology)

    •  

    Current Occupation

    • Barry Fast – Real Estate Broker and Managing Partner in luxury home development company.

    • Debra Okana – AT&T Mobility Area Manager

  • Lawrence Arthur - Realtor

  • Frank Deni – Retired. Was Director of Facilities, Boeing

  • Robert DeAlmeida – Retired Architect

  • Steven Campos – Application Support Specialist (Covenant Care)

  • Thomas Ludden – Medical device manufacturer

  • Marcia Rudolph – Retired. School teacher

  • Hugh Everhart – Commercial Real estate appraiser

  • Tom Cagley. Retired Colonel


    • Ties to the Council

    • Marcia Rudolph – “Kathy McCullough is my best friend.”

    • Tom Ludden – “I have been friends with David Bass for 15 years. I know Adam Nick and Scott Voigts.”

    Bear in mind that the best single predictor of being selected is having some connection to Voigts and/or Robinson and to have little or no actual planning background or experience. FWIW - Note to applicants. There are still 3 more days to make a campaign contribution to Scott Voigts and/or Dwight Robinson.

    Tomorrow we'll look at their responses to the fill-in questionnaire.

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